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CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

cpsc.gov

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Re: CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

#141

Post by slt2021 »

rainsurf wrote: post #54

I strongly disagree with this recall. I own a Onewheel (XR) and have ridden nearly ~1,000 miles on it in a variety of conditions. I've only had one incident and it was entirely my fault (riding at night without proper lights and hit a pothole). The Onewheel definitely has a learning curve. Like most things in life if you are patient in learning it and respect the limits it is entirely safe. I think the safeguards One…

pushback is not adequate safeguard. Evidence is people's deaths and trauma.

FutureMotion must equip all onewheels with safety wheels on both sides. Also known as Fangs bumper wheels.

physics is no excuse for lousy engineering from FutureMotion and complete disregard of life threatening diving condition!

Re: CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

#142

Post by kube-system »

jeffbee wrote: post #71
ars wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was using an e-bike on a road with some ripples (I guess they messed up during paving). I was thrown off of the bike, and my helmet prevented any serious injury. I wasn't even going very fast. The only solution to that (and the potholes) is larger wheels.

What about this experience is specific to electric bikes?

Smaller tires and rotating assemblies with less mass are more susceptible to uneven pavement. For example, a vehicle like a motorcycle or even a motor scooter will be able to handle imperfections on city streets more easily.

If you got a bigger gyroscope under your butt, you're harder to knock over.

Bicycles tend to go with smaller and less massive wheels, because it decreases rider effort required to spin them up, and it's generally a reasonable compromise for vehicles that operate at slower speeds and on smoother surfaces. Of course, if we start adding more power beyond human effort, more speed, and put those vehicles on surfaces designed for larger vehicles, it may make sense to reevaluate that compromise.

Re: CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

#143

Post by butterguns »

0_____0 wrote: post #70
deeblering4 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very true. If you've never been able to cruise on a skateboard, you might not realize how much damage an unexpected pebble or sidewalk crack will do. Riding is a constant balance of scanning the pavement for inconsistencies and making corrections to mitigate them. I don't know if that's even possible at 20+ mph.

Your latter point is why I'm not really sold on electric longboards. Your control authority on a longboard is pretty low, and you need a lot of control authority to react to surprise obstacles/maintain stability after encountering one. Sure, DH longboarders exceed 25mph regularly, but they ride in semi-controlled environments (scout the descent for gravel etc before hitting it) and are exceptionally skilled. Putting…

I rode a Boosted Board for the best part of 1 year on the streets of Brooklyn. I ended up selling it; although I absolutely loved the experience, I knew one day I would rip my face off if I encountered even a small pothole.

Re: CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

#144

Post by comrh »

perihelions wrote: post #134
ramesh31 wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Knowing how to fall is such an incredibly important life skill, it's baffling to watch people who never learned it. As a ski instructor, you could instantly tell from their first fall the kids who would get it and stick with it from the ones who would be sitting in the lodge pouting after an hour.

- "you could instantly tell from their first fall" Mind elaborating what it is you see?

A good video that helped me fall better on skis after I broke my wrist (by falling incorrectly): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS0HCRMbRRA

Re: CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

#145

Post by slt2021 »

alden5 wrote: post #3

onewheels suffer from a problem known as nosediving in which the board shuts off when it can't supply enough power to support the rider, as the board is self balancing this is a problem intrinsic to the board's form factor. The board works in a similar fashion to balancing something like an umbrella on your hand, as the rider leans forward it creates an imbalance that requires the board to accelerate in order to keep…

FutureMotion must equip all onewheels with safety wheels on both sides. Also known as Fangs bumper wheels. This must come standard from factory, just as safety belts come with car.

physics is no excuse for lousy engineering from FutureMotion and complete disregard of life threatening diving condition!

Re: CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

#146

Post by closetohome »

frankus wrote: post #25
s17n wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pushback is extremely unintuitive, it should do pushforward instead.

It also seems like they could do haptics, i.e. superimpose an audio-frequency wave on the motor current. Similar to the steering feedback you get with a lane departure warning system. But then again it might be difficult/impossible to make it distinguishable from e.g. rough pavement.

This could 100% be done in software -- it's already adjusting the wheel speed a thousand times a second, it would be trivial to add some haptic oscillation.

Re: CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

#147

Post by unwind »

rainsurf wrote: post #54

I strongly disagree with this recall. I own a Onewheel (XR) and have ridden nearly ~1,000 miles on it in a variety of conditions. I've only had one incident and it was entirely my fault (riding at night without proper lights and hit a pothole). The Onewheel definitely has a learning curve. Like most things in life if you are patient in learning it and respect the limits it is entirely safe. I think the safeguards One…

Like most things in life if you are patient in learning it and respect the limits it is entirely safe.

Hey, just like C programming! :)

On a slightly more serious note, the point seems to be that people are not, and that can get them killed which is bad. If the thing is that the pushback notification is too easy to ignore/fail to notice, then that sounds fixable.

Re: CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

#148

Post by closetohome »

unethical_ban wrote: post #36
drcode wrote: post #18

There should be a place for adults to purchase equipment for dangerous hobbies, as long as the risks aren't covered up.

Agreed. If this is a problem inherent in the form factor, it should be advertised as such and we continue on, like we do with motorcycles, skateboards and so on.

There are warnings on the box, in the manual, on a piece of cardboard you have to remove to ride the board, and laser marked on the board itself.

Re: CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

#149

Post by foostepsndpics »

js2 wrote: post #10
aksss wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good summary. I would just add that "can't supply enough power" is a state the board can enter into either in lower battery levels or (more often) when a rider has put their center of mass too far forward, causing the board to work harder to stay under them, while also moving at a higher rate of speed or accelerating - the board can't give enough power to maintain this. Pushback is to be respected, but the user can a…

When I was a teenager I rode my skateboard down a parking lot ramp when I realized I was going way too fast, was about to enter the street and the only way to bail was to jump off and run. It looked about like that video. I didn’t realize these one wheels have top speeds of 16-20 mph. That’s faster than most people can sprint. 16 mph is a 3:45 mile. 20 is a 3:00 mile. > we're lucky to enjoy them before the nannies st…

There is a new(ish) safety device for table saws called a sawstop, which can capacitively detect flesh hitting the blade, and eject it before it causes injury.

Works great, and there's a campaign to make them mandatory safety equipment on new table saws.

Re: CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

#150

Post by jollyllama »

duskwuff wrote: post #72
izzydata wrote: post #9

Do segways have a similar problem or is the vehicle large enough that it can always counter balance your weight?

The Segway had a shorter platform, so the user wouldn't put it as far out of balance under typical use, and it had handlebars which allowed the user to pull it back if they started losing their balance. It also had a lower top speed of 10 mph (12.5 on later models); the Onewheel could run at 15-20+ mph. (I use the past tense because Segway production ended in 2020.)

It's a real shame that they've been forced to end production while these more dangerous technologies have proliferated.
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